Should horses and buggies be banned (prohibited) in Central Park?

Above you can see a horse that was injured (harmed) while pulling a buggy near Central Park.  Although this tradition has existed for several decades, many New Yorkers have been questioning how well the horses are being treated by the owners of the service.

When my parents brought me to New York as a child, I recall that we rode on a buggy through Central Park. We felt this was part of the New York City tourist experience.  I am sorry (I regret) that I did that, because I, too, now believe that this tradition should be ended. 1)  It is a rip-off (a rip-off is when a person is charged too much money for something).  Tourists are paying a lot of money for this experience and the experience is probably not worth the amount being paid.  2)  I do not believe the horses enjoy or really want to pull a buggy through Central Park.

The article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/17/us-usa-newyork-horses-idUSBRE99G0I620131017

Vocabulary to help you understand the article:

losing ground to - losing a battle to, losing to

an animal rights group - this is a group that tries to protect the rights of animals. Animals cannot defend themselves so this type of group tries to ensure that the animals are treated well and that they are not mistreated.

an iconic experience - if something is iconic, it is very famous.  These horses and buggies are iconic because when you think of visiting NY City with your family, you often think about these buggy rides.  Basically an iconic thing or service is something so famous that it pops into your head when you think about something connected to it. The Statue of Liberty is also an iconic image relating to NY City, as is the Empire State Building.

extinction - an end

congested - crowded

urban - city

find themselves with the upper hand - they now have the power and are winning

mayoral election - the process in which the people of NY City vote for the person who will be the next mayor.  The mayor of a city is the leader of a city.

dense - crowded

the front-runner - the candidate running for mayor who is currently leading in the polls (unofficial counts)

carriage driver - buggy driver

the face of the industry - the representative of the industry

hysteria - when a person panics (loses control) and experiences or shows too much emotion

an agenda - a goal (I don't see the difference between animal welfare and animal rights)

to breed - breed, bred, bred: bred ---> developed, grew, raised

they project their emotions onto the horses - she is saying that people think that horses feel the same way they feel

clip-clop - the sound of the horses walking

nobody wants to pet a fender - people like petting (touching, stroking) the horses.  You can't do this to a car.

a veterinarian - an animal doctor 

a daycare facility - a place where small children can be taken and supervised while their parents are working

to catch on - to become popular

nostalgic - it reminds a person of the past

cruelty - something is cruel if it hurts something unnecessarily

a compromise - when two sides reach an agreement in the middle of their two goals.

disembarking - leaving